Conditional
by valkyrie-fe
Summary: Some things had never made sense to either side. Namely, why was it that Megatron allowed Starscream to function at his side when the seeker had so openly declared his desire to overthrow the Decepticon leader and take that title and status for himself?


_**Also posted on megascream and tf80s fun on livejournal **_

**Title: **Conditional I couldn't come up with anything better. Forgive. --  
**Rating:** M for safety.  
**Characters/Pairings:** StarscreamxMegatron  
**Warnings and Disclaimers: **Violence and sexual themes, ahoy! Careful there. Universe: G1 Cartoon  
**Note: **In particular, this episode references heavily to the episodes in which Starscream rebelled against Megatron with the Combaticons and Bruticus (good grief, the first time around I called him Menasor in the fic x)--in particularly inspired by my crazy fanatical mind and a line of Megatron's at the end of "Bruticus's Revenge." ;)  
Also, please note that this is the first TF fic I have ever written ever. And no, I'm not gonna go on all kinds of pansy shit about being gentle because of that. I'm dead serious, criticize, whatever. If I'm doing something wrong, I want to know. Because I'm anal and have to have things right. Nothing you'll say will hurt my feelings, I promise. Now, enough with my babbling. Here we go...

**Obligatory useless disclaimer because you guys totally believe that an 18 year old girl owns these guys or is making money off of this. Right? -eye roll-**

Fic start! )

xxxx

Some things had never made sense to either side. Namely, why _was_ it that Megatron allowed Starscream to function at his side when the seeker had so openly declared his desire to overthrow the Decepticon leader and take that title and status for himself? Moreso, after he had been exiled from Earth and _still_ tried to kill Megaton along with the flesh-infested planet, why had Megatron so easily let Starscream back into the ranks?

It didn't make sense, even to Starscream himself. He kept up his normal bravado, but in this time after his reacceptance, he felt some vague paranoia. Optics on him, following his every single move, every single twitch of his finger or turn of his head.

Well, of _course_ they would, he'd tell himself. After all, he'd not only been kicked out once, he'd retaliated by creating the Combaticons and their devastating combination form, Bruticus, once again trying to take over--and had come _so close_ that it was such agony for it to have been snatched away. And this was _before_ the sending-Earth-careening-into-the-Sun fiasco.

And yet... he had been taken back in. Simply for allowing Megatron control of the giant menace that was his creation. Just like that, he had "redeemed" himself.

_Honestly,_ he thought, _I wouldn't trust me at all. If the situation had been reversed, I would have gained control of Bruticus, then disposed of the remaining threat. _

Reason number two for paranoia.

Starscream made a noise of disgust, standing up from his seat. He'd been near a window where he could glare out in thought at the water and passing sea creatures. Now he took to pacing restlessly around the room, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. Things being recently quieter than usual and leaving him all alone with his thoughts wasn't helpful.

Why? it echoed through his head. Why, why, why?

"I'm going out of my mind," he whispered to the empty air, not without the heat of annoyance. Part of him wanted to go demand it from Megatron. Logic dictated that he didn't press his luck after all this. Maybe it was all that Megatron was waiting on to terminate him. Or maybe he was being _too_ paranoid now. Or maybe... Maybe, maybe, maybe. It was worse than the stupid _whys_.

"Starscream!" Megatron's voice crackled over the intercom, giving the 'con a violent start. Starscream gave the speaker a rueful look, but responded accordingly.

"Yes, _Megatron_?" he replied, and quite politely, he thought, considering he'd nearly jumped right out of his armor plating. There was a slight pause. Starscream's first thought was that Megatron was playing games with him; as he waited, he considered that he might have been a little _too_ sarcastic.

"Come here. **Now**."

_Smart. __**Real**__ intelligent, _he thought, biting back the urge to demand where here was, and just worked on an assumption. At this point it didn't matter if he guessed wrong or had actually retorted--the end result of the confrontation would be the same.

As he walked reluctantly to the biggest room they had underwater--the one that contained their main computer, where Megatron would rally them all for his next strike against the Autobots that would inevitably fail--he saw his fellow seekers coming from exactly that way. They were openly staring at him. Already filled with animosity, Starscream sneered at them; Thundercracker averted his gaze, Skywarp whispering something to him before they passed in the hall. Starscream clenched a fist again, but he continued without so much as a backwards glance at the pair.

When he came upon the entrance, he found Soundwave standing next to it, as if guarding. The other 'con gazed at him stoically, and Starscream, finding he didn't particularly feel like bothering with him--_blindly loyal follower of Megatron_--and entered the room unabashedly.

The first thing that registered was how empty the room was. The second thing came out of nowhere, it seemed: a strong metal collision to his back that sent him sprawling end over end. Rolling over, he saw Megatron advancing upon him, red optics blazing. He glanced around the room and found that his first impression was correct: the room was devoid of any presence other than their own. Another why forced itself into his mind: _If he was just going to beat up on me, why did he send everyone else out? He's never shied away from public humiliation. _

Megatron paused a short distance in front of him. Starscream sprang to his feet and took a step back, looking at the larger 'con warily. He chuckled. Starscream clenched his hands into fists once again, his expression changing from suspicion and confusion to barely restrained anger. _Laughing at me again. _This reaction only served to turn the small chuckle into a roaring laugh. The seeker's limbs were quivering with rage by the time Megatron had recovered. He gave Starscream a look that made him feel uncomfortably like his insides had flopped over; he took another step backwards.

"No witty banter, Starscream?"

He scowled at the bigger 'con, despising him with his entire being at that moment, but he remained silent. Megatron advanced those two steps on him, that small amount of space that Starscream had backed up, and no more, but it felt to the seeker as threatening as if he'd rushed forward in his face.

"Come now, I know you always have something stored up in that sarcastic little mind of yours," he said, smirking.

"All right then," Starscream snarled, "why did you--?" The rest of the question was cut off when Megatron's fist collided with his cheek, sending the smaller 'con flying to the right. He pushed himself up, hearing lazy footsteps approaching him again, but stopped suddenly, staying low. It grated upon him how much it looked like an act of supplication, but why give Megatron the pleasure of knocking him down again? He was determined to give their "leader" as much frustration as he had endured.

At a soft _clink_, he reared up to his knees. Megatron had knelt in front of him. "How uncharacteristic of you," he said, his voice softer but more mocking. "Giving up?"

Starscream's optics flashed anger. "Never," he replied heatedly.

Megatron grinned. "Excellent." He grabbed the seeker by his chin and painfully yanked him to his feet. Before he could recover the splitting pains in his neck, his tormentor collided a shoulder to his abdominal region, knocking him backwards until he hit a wall. Stunned, but scrambling back upright, his optics focused to give him a clear image of Megatron looming threateningly and far too close to him. He tried evading to the left, but found himself gripped by the shoulders and slammed back into the wall again, jumbling his senses for a second time.

He came back to full reality vividly aware of Megatron's proximity to him, his hands hovering--one near his right wing, the other wandering as if unsure where to go. He felt himself quivering again--in some strange excitement or anticipation, instead of the mighty rage that had swept him before.

Humiliatingly, Megatron noticed this fact as well, and smirked again. Before Starscream could spout off any scathing nonsense in retaliation, his chin was grabbed forcefully again and his head tilted backwards, as lips crashed violently over his.

His small noise of surprise was captured and buried in the forceful contact, turning almost into a yearning plea as the hand that had been lingering near his wing slowly stroked down it. _No,_ the stubborn part of him said. _No, I won't give him that, I won't plead._

Instead, he became all the more assertive, tried to take it under his control. The contact ended abruptly: he was struck and sent tumbling to the floor again. He once again pushed himself up, more slowly this time.

A foot planted squarely on his back forced him to the floor again, his jaw smacking painfully together when his chin hit the floor. Megatron kicked him over onto his back, his foot now resting on the golden windows of the cockpit on his chest. He bent down as if to see the seeker's dark face better.

"Tell me," he said. "What was your question?" Starscream glared silently at him, his smarting jaw set in stubbornness. Megatron's fist collided with his cheek again, snapping his head painfully to the side again. "Answer me. Now."

His lips curled in a snarl as he spat out, "Why did you let me come back here after my exile?" He said it with as much hostility as he could manage, distracted by the fact that Megatron's foot had slid from his chest and he had bent down farther into Starscream's face.

"You wouldn't have done that?" Megatron asked of him.

"No," Starscream replied as if the answer were plain, startled into the truth by the inquiry.

"Then you obviously _are_ just as ignorant as I said you were," he stated. He now had the smaller 'con pinned, having rested his knees on either side of his body. He bent much closer to the trembling seeker, whispering right into his audio receptors, "Because... you make me perfect."

"You're babbling," Starscream told him frankly. Megatron cackled.

"No, I'm not. Just think on it. It makes perfect sense."

Telling him to think was an impossibility, though, because he spread both his arms and began sliding them down his wings. He gasped, biting his lip viciously against helpless cries of pleasure. He wiggled underneath Megatron's weight, trying and failing to flip them over, reverse the situation.

"Ah-ahh," Megatron scolded. "You're making the same mistake again."

"What mistake?" Starscream growled, impatient and half agonized at the loss of ministrations to his wings.

"The same mistake you always make, fool." Starscream made to reply, but Megatron continued, "Honestly, Starscream. What was the condition I had on your return to us here on Earth?"

"Condition?" he repeated, his mind trying futilely to search for what his babble meant.

"Yes. I let you return to Earth... as my _subordinate._ Subordinates are _submissive_, Starscream."

"I am _not_ submissive," he retorted hotly, optics flashing in challenge. Megatron laughed.

"I know," he replied. "But there's still time to learn."

**--FIN.--**

**EDIT: Oh, I forgot to mention, there's actually meaning and thought behind Meg's "You make me perfect" line. Forgot to mention that the first time around. If you're curious, just ask. :D**


End file.
